SAN DIEGO COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Practice Makes Substitute Setter Perfect for UCSD

Amy Banachowski was a third-string setter for her high school volleyball team last year. Now she is a national champion.

Banachowski, who rarely played on the Mira Costa High team that won a state championship last year, was the starting setter for UC San Diego this season. The Tritons won the NCAA Division III championship Saturday, defeating Washington University of St. Louis in five games.

UCSD Coach Doug Dannevik said when he recruited Banachowski out of high school, he had to watch her in warmups because that was the only chance to see what she could do. Dannevik liked what he saw, but he was also swayed by her father, Andy Banachowski, who coaches top-ranked UCLA.

“By watching her enough, I knew she was perfect for us,” Dannevik said. “She did not play like a freshman at all (this season).”

Banachowski is one reason Dannevik probably will be named national coach of the year. He already has won the regional coaching honor.

Dannevik, who has won six of 11 volleyball titles and been to eight finals since the NCAA began sponsoring Division III championships in 1980, started two freshmen--Banachowski and Jennifer Cross (Patrick Henry). He used four other freshman and had only one returning starter--Elizabeth Tan. There were no seniors on the roster.

“To be honest, winning the national championship was a surprise,” Dannevik said. “We just did not know how we were going to do at the beginning of the season. When you have six freshman and only one returning starter, it would be ridiculous to think we could win the national championship.”

Tan and Vikki Van Duyne were first team All-Americans, and Dana Simone second team. Tan, Van Duyne and Liz Vesanovic made the all-tournament team. Vesanovic was the only player on the all-tournament team not named an All-American.

Vesanovic was a pleasant surprise, Dannevik said.

“She was the biggest single factor the last month,” Dannevik said. “She performed at a much better level. She really turned things around for us.”

Another factor was the celebration of the Division III championships’ 10th anniversary. Because UCSD has been a power in Division III, Dannevik said his young team got caught up in the fanfare.

“We really hadn’t talked to our younger players about that too much,” he said. “They really got fired up hearing UCSD mentioned all the time. They wanted to become a part of it. It made things kind of special.”

Grossmont College won its sixth consecutive Pacific Coast Conference women’s volleyball championship last week, including its fifth in a row with a perfect record. The Griffins, coached by Colleen Suwara, have won 64 consecutive conference matches.

Jeni Murrell, a sophomore from USDHS, was selected all-state. Murrell led Grossmont (17-4) in kills (275), hitting percentage (.318), service aces (29) and digs (246). Grossmont is the defending state champion.

Palomar College (6-4) will play Antelope Valley College (8-2) in the annual San Diego Hall of Fame Bowl Dec. 1 at Balboa Stadium.

But it took a wild, record-setting game Saturday--107 points and more than 1,000 yards of offense--before Palomar won its second consecutive Mission Conference Southern Division championship.

Behind the passing of Brett Salisbury, Palomar defeated Grossmont, 63-44, in the regular-season finale.

“That’s a very unusual way of doing it, but we pulled it out,” Palomar Coach Tom Craft said. “It was quite a game. I’ve never seen a game with 107 points scored.”

No two teams in the Mission Conference had either. The point total was more than the previous record of 106 (Palomar 62, San Bernardino 44) set in 1973. Palomar’s 63 was one below the conference mark set by Citrus in 1975. Palomar also broke conference single-game records for total offense (706), set by Grossmont (677) in 1969; and first downs (33), set by Orange Coast (32) in 1987.

Salisbury, an Orange Glen alumnus who transferred last spring from Brigham Young, set a few records too, completing 36 of 50 passes for 500 yards and eight touchdowns.

The touchdown passes tied a national record. Salisbury’s 273 completions this season surpassed Scott Barrick’s national record of 248 set last year when he played at Palomar.

Salisbury, the state passing and total offense leader, also set conference records for yards and total offense in a game.

On the receiving end, Choo Choo Walker, the Comets’ backup quarterback from Vista High, caught 11 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

Perhaps one reason the University of San Diego lost, 2-1 in overtime, to UCLA in the men’s soccer NCAA West Region semifinal Sunday was lack of experience.

Entering the tournament, USD had one player--Chugger Adair, who transferred from San Diego State--with one game of playoff experience. USD, 16-3-5 overall, was 0-2-5 in overtime games this season.

Howard Wright, the former standout at Patrick Henry High and Stanford who was waived by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks Nov. 13, was picked up by the Orlando Magic a day later.

Christian Heritage, the National Christian College Athletic Assn. men’s basketball champion last season, lost four starters to graduation. Co-head Coach Ray Slagle left to become vice principal and basketball coach at Grace Brethren Christian School in Ohio.

How much will that affect the Hawks?

A good deal, if you are to believe the preseason picks of the NAIA District 3 coaches. Christian Heritage was listed 10th out of the 13 schools in the district. Point Loma Nazarene was rated seventh.

The preseason poll was announced at the district’s media day in Costa Mesa, but Christian Heritage was one of only two schools without a representative.

“I had to make a choice between practice and being there. It wasn’t a hard one,” said Swen Nater, Christian Heritage coach.

Because it doesn’t have a gym, Christian Heritage practices at 5:45 a.m. at Grossmont College. It is the only time the Hawks can get the facility.